zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw · error · anyhow::Error

cli-cron-update-no-field

cli-cron-update-no-field

Error message

At least one of --expression, --tz, --command, --name, --allowed-tool, --uses-memory, or a delivery flag (--channel, --to, --thread, --best-effort, --no-best-effort) must be provided

What it means

`cron update` is a patch operation: only the fields you name change. The command therefore requires at least one of --expression, --tz, --command, --name, --allowed-tool, --uses-memory, or a delivery flag (--channel, --to, --thread, --best-effort, --no-best-effort). With none provided, it aborts immediately (i18n key 'cli-cron-update-no-field') rather than performing a silent no-op.

Source

Thrown at src/cron/mod.rs:544

            expression,
            tz,
            command,
            name,
            allowed_tools,
            uses_memory,
            delivery,
        } => {
            require_configured_agent(config, &agent_alias)?;
            let delivery_requested = delivery.any_set();
            if expression.is_none()
                && tz.is_none()
                && command.is_none()
                && name.is_none()
                && allowed_tools.is_empty()
                && uses_memory.is_none()
                && !delivery_requested
            {
                bail!("{}", get_required_cli_string("cli-cron-update-no-field"));
            }

            let existing = if expression.is_some()
                || tz.is_some()
                || !allowed_tools.is_empty()
                || delivery_requested
            {
                Some(get_job(config, &id)?)
            } else {
                None
            };

            // Delivery flags are a patch over the stored config, matching this
            // command's contract that only the fields you name change. The
            // create paths validate inside `add_*_with_approval`; the update
            // path does not, so validate the merged result here.
            let delivery = if delivery_requested {
                let existing = existing

View on GitHub (pinned to 88bb9c8533)

Solutions

Add the field you want to change, e.g. `zeroclaw cron update <id> --name weekly` or `--expression '0 5 * * 1'`.
If you meant to inspect rather than change the job, use the list/show command instead.
In scripts, skip the update call entirely when the computed patch set is empty, and assert at least one flag when building the command line.

Example fix

# before (script runs update with no flags)
zeroclaw cron update abc123
# after (guard in the caller)
if [ -n "$EXPR" ] || [ -n "$NAME" ]; then
  zeroclaw cron update abc123 ${EXPR:+--expression "$EXPR"} ${NAME:+--name "$NAME"}
fi

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

struct CronPatch<'a> {
    expression: Option<&'a str>, tz: Option<&'a str>, command: Option<&'a str>,
    name: Option<&'a str>, allowed_tools: &'a [String], uses_memory: Option<bool>,
    delivery_any: bool,
}
impl CronPatch<'_> {
    fn is_empty(&self) -> bool {
        self.expression.is_none() && self.tz.is_none() && self.command.is_none()
            && self.name.is_none() && self.allowed_tools.is_empty()
            && self.uses_memory.is_none() && !self.delivery_any
    }
}
// skip the `cron update` call when patch.is_empty()

Try / catch

match run_cron_update(args).await {
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("must be provided") => {
        // no-op patch: log and continue; nothing to fix on the CLI side
    }
    other => other,
}

Prevention

In automation, build the patch explicitly and skip the invocation when no field is set.
Use list/show commands for inspection; reserve update for actual changes.
Unit-test flag-building code for the all-variables-empty case.

When it happens

Trigger: `zeroclaw cron update <id>` (optionally with just the agent alias) and no mutation flags — commonly when a script conditionally builds its flag list and every condition evaluated false.

Common situations: Wrapper scripts passing flags only when variables are set (all empty in some runs); users expecting 'update' to refresh or re-arm a job; copy-paste commands that lost their flags.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw@88bb9c8533 (2026-08-23). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f07503000fda8139. Report an issue: GitHub.